He's just another jackass who says things just to get attention, whether he believes it or not. Technically he's right, but the Original 6 doesn't mean the first 6 NHL franchises, it means the 6 teams that were around for years before expansion to 12 teams.

I don't think you understand player value. Every team has players like those kids, and they get more every year. They have no value on their own. Even as part of a package they don't have much value. Those types are throw ins until they actually show something in the pros.

I have a cornerstone defenseman who is 23 and signed for a good contract through the 18/19 season. I'm not going to trade him for anything less than a king's ransom. I want a good young roster player, 2 top prospects who should be NHL ready sooner rather than later, a high draft pick, plus more assets or I don't trade him. Since there's no need to move him, unless he has privately asked me to trade him and will go public with his demand if I can't get it done, I can demand that much and just keep him if I can't get what I want.

First tier are projected top 6 forwards, top d pair, starting goalies. Larkin, Mantha, Sproul, Mrazek. Second tier are projected to be good players but there are questions and projections are more 2md/3rd line tweeners, solid second pair d, goalies who might start or might be backups. That's Pulk. Lesser prospects are projected bottom end of the roster guys like we Jensen Callahan and Ferraro, and guys who may or may not be NHL players. These guys have little value. Then there are guys like Frk and Tvrdon who have no trade value and are more or less filler for minor league rosters.

I don't believe for a minute that the Leafs won't get more than a second for Franson, and adding Callahan or Ferraro to it won't be enough. I'm not as high on Pulkinnen as some people, but that's the level of prospect they'll get in addition to the pick, and I don't want to move him for a guy who is probably only going to be here for the rest of this season.

Kronwall scores well over 40 points a year and is on pace to do so again, but he's not good offensively and his offense has dried up because he hasn't scored a ton the last week or two, because nobody goes through stretches like that. Gotcha.

The Wings are 1 point out of first in their division with a game in hand on TB. Depending on the D brought in, I think one player absolutely puts them in the upper echelon of the league as long as they don't give up a bunch of roster players to do it.

It's funny though, people bash Holland for not having balls to make a trade, but then whenever someone suggests trading anyone decent to bring in a good player like Ekman-Larson or whoever, they panic and say no way, because FUTURE!

If they try to waive him to GR, he'll retire and the Wings will be screwed.

If they waive him and release him, the cap penalty screws them.

The only real option is keep him and hope he either stays healthy, or sits on IR for the duration of his contract.

Pulkinnen or Jurco won't be waived. If someone gets waived, it would be Andersson. The Wings don't let players go if they're going to be good, the guys they have lost on waivers have done virtually nothing. Knuble was the last good player the Wings let go because they didn't have room for a young guy, and that was more because Bowman wanted vets than anything to do with Holland.